


Green Grass and a Happy Dragon

by jossofallthetrades



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angry Draco, Astoria rambles, Developing Relationship, Draco is smitten, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, I'll Add tags as we go along, M/M, door slamming, draco you brat, house elves put up with way too much..., let the poor house elves live their lives, trees are great
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 01:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7957165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jossofallthetrades/pseuds/jossofallthetrades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“They’re beautiful aren’t they?” She motioned out vaguely with her hand. Mentally Draco rolled his eyes, brilliant, small talk about the stars.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>“Yes, very lovely.” Draco halfheartedly agreed.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>“Oh I wouldn’t say lovely, beautiful certainly, but a powerful sort of beauty don’t you think.” Draco looked at Astoria assuming she’d be looking up into the sky, but instead her head was propped on her hand and she seemed to be looking dreamily out at the lush forest beneath them.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>“The trees?”</em>
</p><p>A strange girl and a balcony. How did Draco Malfoy get so lucky?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A 'gathering'

Narcissa had told Draco that the gathering at Greengrass manor would be just that, a gathering of the sacred 28, or at least those left who were not in Azkaban or lying low to avoid being sent there. Narcissa had insisted that Draco go to represent the Malfoy lineage with her, seeing as he was the sole heir and his father was banished and could not attend as the man of the family. Draco thought it was just his mother trying to get him out of Malfoy Manor for the first time in the months passing the Battle of Hogwarts. He hadn’t left the large house since the ministry released them from custody and sent them back home on probation, not quite ready to try and return to life as it had been before the war. _I don’t even remember what it was like to not have deatheaters in my life messing with things and plotting murders in my own house!_ Draco had yelled at his mother during one of their many heated arguments. The look Draco saw flash in his mother’s eyes broke his heart; it was one of regret, longing, and most of all guilt. Draco had swore to himself to try and be better for his mother from there on, to do whatever it would take to make sure she knew that he didn’t blame her and that he loved her more than anyone in his life.  
That was how Draco ended up in Greengrass Manor, dressed in his best robes, sipping uncomfortably at a bubbly drink, and nodding politely at whatever one of his distant relative was talking to him about at the moment. He was never one for the grand gestures many of the pureblood families seemed to revel in, of course he knew how to act in these situations, he was a Malfoy after all, but of all the ‘perks’ that came with being a pureblood, parties like these were his least favorite of all. As the small band of enchanted instruments in the corner began playing a new song Draco politely excused himself before anybody could ask him to dance, and headed straight for a somewhat secluded balcony to get away from his social duties. He caught Narcissa’s eye as he walked briskly towards his escape and gave her a small apologetic smile, which she nodded to and responded with her own little smile. Once he stepped out into the cool air of the night he sighed heavily, moving out of sight into the dimly lit corner furthest away from the doors leading back into the main room. Draco leaned against the stone railing letting his head hang down before sighing again and scoffing internally. _Gathering my ass, this is a full-blown party._  
“Oh, Draco Malfoy.” Draco’s head snapped up to see a short girl with waist length curly brown hair moving towards him. “I was debating whether to leave before this young pureblood stranger who calls himself family saw me, but it’s just you.” The girl said with a smile, stopping just in front of Draco. “Wait I don’t mean, it’s just you, in a bad way!” Her smile fell a look of panic replacing it, “I just meant it’s strange that I’ve hardly ever met anyone here at this party, or well gathering, mother called it a gathering of course, but really it’s definitely a party.” She let out a self-conscious chuckle, “And since I’ve never really met anyone here, well at least not formally, it’s nice to see your face. Well not your face in particular! Just a familiar face, not that your face isn’t nice, Draco Malfoy, your face is lovely! I just meant that um… I’m rambling, sorry. It’s good to see you.” She tried for a smile again but it came out as more of a grimace.  
“Have we met?” Draco reprimanded himself mentally at his own tactlessness, it didn’t matter if they’ve met before, she mentioned she was a Greengrass and offending a daughter of the host usually didn’t bode well, surprisingly though the strange girl only seemed delighted that he hadn’t just blown her off and left.  
“Yes, at Hogwarts, only once or twice though. I’m Astoria Greengrass.” She stuck out her hand with a timid smile Draco took it hesitantly, all the while trying to figure out a way to escape from another awkward social situation with someone he hardly knew, also how long was too long to hide out in a bathroom where no one could intrude on his solitude.  
“Daphne’s sister.” Draco commented and turned back to his original position, hoping that this strange Greengrass girl would take the hint that he wanted to be alone, but she only joined him in leaning on the railing and nodded.  
“Yes, but I don’t think she likes me very much.” Another self-conscious chuckle, “Sorry.” She apologized glancing at Draco then back out to the view they had from the balcony, “They’re beautiful aren’t they?” She motioned out vaguely with her hand. Mentally Draco rolled his eyes, _brilliant, small talk about the stars._  
“Yes, very lovely.” Draco halfheartedly agreed.  
“Oh I wouldn’t say lovely, beautiful certainly, but a powerful sort of beauty don’t you think.” Draco looked at Astoria assuming she’d be looking up into the sky, but instead her head was propped on her hand and she seemed to be looking dreamily out at the lush forest beneath them.  
“The trees?” Draco couldn’t keep the surprise and slight distaste out of his voice, having to remind himself again that he should at least try to be polite.  
“Oh yes, they’re wonderful.” Astoria straightened up her brown curls falling around her shoulders. “They’re strong and powerful, it takes a lot of magic to uproot one, and the way they stand so tall reaching towards the sun so their leaves can shade the creatures in the forest.” Draco only turned his head slightly, trying to give the impression that he wasn’t very interested but it was hard not to become invested in such a trivial thing when this extraordinarily eccentric girl talked about trees as if they were the most magical things in the universe. “Lots of creatures live in trees you know, of course you do. But there are these little creatures called squirrels in the muggle world, they live in and feed off of acorn trees. And foxes too, they live in the roots of trees, they make their dens there.”  
A small smile crept on to Draco’s face, he hadn’t seen so much passion put into something other than keeping purebloods in power, or serving the dark lord in such a long time. It was refreshing to listen to someone speak about something so innocent with such enthusiasm. “Trees are so incredibly versatile, they give us nuts, and fruits, and with some trees you can make tea out of their roots or their leaves and… and even in the coldest of winters they, um… they stand tall and strong, and they’re always… right there.” Without either of them noticing it the two teens had ended up only inches apart, forcing Astoria to tilt her head almost all the way back to look at Draco in the eyes, who didn’t seem to have any plans to move away anytime soon. “Right um…” Astoria took a step back putting some distance between them, but Draco could still see the blush on her cheeks, which strangely enough brought a red tint in his own. “I should go now, you’ve probably come out here to um, to get away from the crowed and the noise, and here I am” she tucked a curl behind her ear, “here I am crowding you in a corner and yapping noisily at you. So I’ll just um… Good to see you Malfoy.” She did a half curtsy and yet another of her self-conscious half laughs, Draco decided then and there that he wanted to hear what her laughs sounded like without the embarrassed hesitation. As she turned to leave Draco panicked, not sure how to ask her to stay. He’d never had to ask someone to stay and talk with him, normally he’d have to tell people to leave him alone at Hogwarts, his pseudo friends Crabb and Goyle, hell even is girlfriend at the time Pansy would get on his nerves rattling on about something or other that he’d just end up telling her to leave.  
“Stay.” He blurted, grabbing on to her wrist to stop her from going any farther. He felt his cheeks heat up but he didn’t loosen his grip. He didn’t mean for it to come out as a command but he wasn’t accustomed to asking for things politely and his father never taught him what to do if he actually met someone he liked at one of these infernal ‘gatherings’. She turned to him with wide green eyes that reminded Draco of forests filled with tall beautiful trees. “I mean, I don’t mind your company.” Draco cleared his throat and dropped her hand facing back out to the forest suddenly very interested in trying to somehow gather courage from the trees in the forest. A powerful beauty, Draco thought to himself before taking a, what he thought was subtle deep breath, “so you could stay if you liked.” Draco cleared his throat, taking a sip of his long forgotten drink, keeping his gaze trained on a particularly tall tree in the distance.  
“Well, well… I wasn’t very sure you liked me or my company.” Astoria teased coyly, bumping her shoulder against the taller boy, smiling bashfully when he didn’t move away.  
“You and your company are quite lovely compared to the lot in there.” Draco said dryly forgetting his manners the way he tended to when he didn’t know what to do with his emotions. Draco expected a tense silence to follow, or for Astoria to try and defend her family’s honor and leave, or any number of equally justified offended reactions, but what he didn’t expect was to hear a loud snort followed by another teasing bump on the shoulder.  
“Only comparatively, of course.” Astoria smiled and sent a playful glare in Draco’s direction. Once again he felt his face light up, only this time it was accompanied by a warm, fluttery feeling in his stomach, a feeling he hadn’t felt in such a long time that it must’ve made him temporarily insane because all he could do to stop himself from pulling her close and never letting go was saying, “You’re lovely on your own.” It was that statement that brought silence between them, but it wasn’t tense or unpleasant. Well not in the sense that Draco thought he had offended Astoria but his heart was in his throat and he felt like bolting back into the room, where safety of a crowded room where he knew just when to nod and all the rules were taught to him as a child being raised into wealth. Then Astoria nodded out to the forest.  
“Like the trees?” And that could have been the end of any awkward tension that was lingering but Draco made the mistake of looking at her and seeing the pretty pink flush to her cheeks and the glow of the moon reflected in her eyes.  
“Like the stars.” At this point Astoria’s face was comparable to a tomato and it her who looked like she was going to run. Draco wondered if nobody had told her how lovely she was or how beautiful she looked before him. The thought was unacceptable. Surely she must have had boys clamoring for her attention all night, asking her to dance, their wandering hands going too low down her back for any proper gentleman. Draco, of course, never claimed to be a proper gentleman himself, many times had his been the wandering hands at the various balls Hogwarts hosted, he never thought much of it, it had been the girls who asked him to dance, who giggled stupidly at whatever he’d say, but the thought of Astoria pressed close to some snobbish boy who was probably only after her for her family name made Draco’s blood boil.  
“Well, I um…” Astoria brought him out of his thoughts and looked down bashfully, her hair falling into her face, “Thank you, Malfoy… I’m uh…”  
“Draco.” He corrected.  
“What?” The short girl looked up at Draco as if she’d done something wrong.  
“Just call me Draco.” Draco winced at the harshness in his tone. “Only if you’d like of course.”  
“Draco…” The small smile on Astoria’s face was enough to ease Draco’s nerves.  
“Astoria.” Draco smiled back without thinking before realizing his error, “Er… Miss Greengrass.” He corrected himself, once again turning out to the scenery to avoid her gaze.  
“Ew, no.” Astoria took her place next to him again, closer this time, so they were touching from their shoulders to their elbows where they rested on the railing. “I much prefer you calling me Astoria, it’s considerably nicer than _miss Greengrass_. And honestly it’s only fair that if I get to call you Draco, then you get to call me Astoria. That is my name after all; my first name, and I’ll always choose my first name to my surname. Not that I don’t like my last name, it just comes with a lot of implications, and expectations. Like my mother always says, ‘the Greengrass family name has always been a’-” She cut herself off, and looked down in embarrassment. “I’m rambling again aren’t I?” Her hands were fidgeting, and Draco only had to move his wrist slightly and he’d be holding one in his own. Instead he merely brushed his knuckles against the back of her hand gently.  
“I don’t mind.” Draco said staring down at their hands in wonder. “It’s nice listening to you talk.” Astoria smiled down at their hands just resting next to each other only just touching.  
“Really?” She asked quietly.  
“Yes.” Draco responded looking back at Astoria who was now staring back at him with an amused twinkle in her eyes.  
“You’re very strange, Draco Malfoy.” She whispered, smirking, as if it was a very well kept secret just between them two. Draco huffed amusedly.  
“This coming from the girl in love with trees.” He didn’t even have time to worry if he offended her before a beautiful melodic laugh escaped from her lips.   
“Yes, I suppose that’s fair.” She laughed again, bringing the first real smile Draco had since the terrible battle. His smile only grew as she continued to laugh and look at him as if he were an absolute genius. The stayed like that for a good amount of time, just talking and laughing, sharing stories of their childhood, bonding over their hatred of ‘gatherings’ such as the one they were attending. The smile never left Astoria’s face and truthfully she did most of the talking, but Draco had never felt more at ease in his life just listening to this strange girl he met at a party talk about everything and nothing, about trees and stars, about how truly useless it was to enchant instruments to play when there were so many talented musicians in need of work. He never wanted it to end, but of course as all good things it had to.  
“Draco, are you still out here?” Narcissa Malfoy stepped out on the balcony accompanied by Lady Greengrass. Astoria’s face immediately fell, her head hung low and she stood tense and alert.  
“Mother, yes I was just having a conversation with,” Draco cleared his throat, stopping himself before he called Astoria by her first name in front of the adults, “Miss Greengrass.” He finished and almost immediately regretted it when Astoria flinched, almost unnoticeably, next to him.  
“Yes, do forgive my younger daughter for keeping you here. You must have wanted to get away from the crowd and the commotion, yet here she is crowding you and talking your ear off I’m sure.” Lady Greengrass stepped forward, leading Draco away with a gentle hand on his elbow. He frowned when he noticed that Astoria’s words were almost a mirror image of her mother’s.  
“It was no trouble really.” Draco said a bit more tersely than he had meant to, not liking the notion that her mother was the one who caused all of Astoria’s self doubt.  
“Yes well, Draco it’s time we get going.” His mother took his other elbow leading him back into the room where the crowd had thinned out and the enchanted instruments no longer played. As his mother and Lady Greengrass spoke about something Draco couldn’t even pretend to be interested in, he chanced a look behind him to see Astoria following them with her head down and hands folded neatly in front of her. “Don’t you agree Draco?” His mother asked him when they reached the grand fireplace where they were to use the floo to get back to Malfoy Manor.  
“Of course mother.” Draco responded absentmindedly not knowing at all what he just agreed to, but noticing the tall blonde Daphne Greengrass had taken residence next to Astoria who looked even tenser than before.  
“Narcissa thank you for joining us. You must come back for dinner soon.” Lady Greengrass said Embracing Draco’s mother.  
“Of course, and you know that you and your daughter are always welcome at Malfoy Manor.” Draco scowled at his mother’s back, noticing she said _daughter_ and not _daughters_.  
“Come along now girls say your goodbyes.” Lady Greengrass stepped back making room for her daughters to step forward.  
“Narcissa, always a pleasure.” Daphne went first, hugging Draco’s mother like they were old friends, “Draco darling.” The blonde girl smiled sickeningly sweet and kissed him on the cheek. Draco tried to turn his grimace into a smile but was unsure if he succeeded.  
“Yes um, Mrs. Malfoy.” Astoria did one of her half curtsies then turned to Draco with a small smile. “It was lovely to see you Dr-” at a stern glare from her mother Astoria’s smile fell and she half curtsied again, “Lovely to see you um… Mr. Malfoy?” She looked up at her mother fro approval but only got a curt nod.  
“We’ll leave you to it then. Farewell.” Lady Greengrass excused herself from the room her two daughters following her, Astoria kept glancing back at Draco and hesitating as if she wanted to say something more but eventually just succumbed to following her mother out of sight.   
“I don’t like you talking to that Greengrass girl.” Draco startled slightly at his mother’s voice, “she’s strange.” With that Narcissa stepped into the fireplace, calling out Malfoy Manor before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Draco frowned at the empty fireplace. It was true Astoria was strange, but he didn’t see why that should be a reason for his mother to dislike her. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and was about to step into the fireplace when he heard scurrying steps behind him, when he turned to see Astoria hurrying in he couldn’t keep the smile from his face.  
“Can I write you?” She asked, almost colliding with Draco. “I know we’ve only really known each other a few hours and perhaps you think I’m strange,” she paused to chuckle, “but it gets lonely sometimes and I just thought, maybe, if you wouldn’t mind, um… maybe I could…”  
“Of course.” Draco interrupted before she lost her nerve. “Any time Astoria.” Draco smiled at her.  
“Thank you.” She did a little hop and grinned back. “Goodbye Draco.” Her smile widened and she kissed his cheek in farewell and with that she rushed back out of the room as quickly as she came in. Draco’s face was on fire; it wasn’t a particularly special kiss on the cheek. It was the kind you give in greeting and when saying goodbye, it was by all accounts absolutely unextraordinary and perfectly polite, but Draco couldn’t help a nervous laugh from bubbling over which only made him blush more. He stepped, dazed, into the fireplace and went home.  
When he stepped out of the fireplace in his own home his mother was nowhere in sight, most likely already in her room getting ready to sleep. Draco carried himself up the stairs, declining offers of tea from the house elves. When he finally reached his room he closed the door behind him and flopped face first onto his bed. He felt like a young first year with a crush, only he was 17, practically an adult and here he was with dragons in his stomach, red faced, and absolutely smitten with this peculiar Greengrass girl he met only a few hours before.  
“Astoria.” He said into his pillow. It was a beautiful name for a beautiful girl… Sighing Draco rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep with thoughts of curly brown hair, green eyes, and the powerful sort of beauty trees possessed.


	2. A letter

Draco woke the next morning still dressed in his formal robes and in a pleasant mood. He didn’t expect Astoria to write him that day but somehow just the thought that she would send him a letter some time soon filled him with a sort of excitement. He tried to tell himself that the way he was feeling was completely idiotic. That knowing that a girl, whom he had only actually known for a very short amount of time, was going to write to him soon shouldn’t be getting him all worked up. As he changed out of his formal robes and into something fit for the day he scowled at his reflection. His normally slicked back blond hair was sticking up in every direction, the product in it made his hair shine as if it were oily after being slept in. Reprimanding himself mentally for sleeping without even getting changed, Draco finished getting out of his formal robes and into something fit to lounge around in just till after breakfast. He worked his hands through his hair, trying to make it cooperate and let out an irritated sigh when the best he could do was still vaguely messy. Giving up he strode out of his bedroom to say good morning to his mother before breakfast.  
Normally Narcissa would take her morning tea in the main sitting room by the biggest fireplace in the manor. Draco hated it in there; the lingering feeling of dread from when the Malfoys would host dozens of deatheaters at a time, or even the dark lord himself, always left Draco uneasy. How his mother could sit in that room alone and feel completely comfortable was a mystery to him. Draco avoided the big space as much as possible, only ever entering in the mornings to greet his mother and walk to the breakfast table with her, or if she called Draco in for ‘urgent matters that needed his attention’. This morning though, he was greeted with an empty room. Turning back around he spotted a house elf rushing by with a tea tray in its grip.  
“You there.” The creature jumped, almost dropping the tray.  
“Y-yes Master Draco?” Draco’s lip curled in disgust at the sight of the nameless house elf bowing.  
“Where is my mother?” He demanded quickly, despising how submissive the things were. He wanted this interaction over quickly.  
“Lady Narcissa is in the dining room, awaiting Master Draco.” The elf looked up at Draco, seemingly pleased at knowing the answer to his question.  
“Then why the hell didn’t you get me earlier?” He yelled at it, bumping into it with his leg as he pushed passed it. There was a pathetic yelp and the sound of something shattering before the house elf began babbling.  
“Shambles is sorry Master Draco. Shambles swears it will never happen again. Please forgive Shambles. Shambles shall clean up the mess, Master Draco, so that Master Draco may go to Lady Narcissa.” _So Shambles was its name_. Draco sneered to himself, _a pitiful name for a pitiful creature_. Draco continued towards the dining room ignoring the elf as it continued to mumble apologies. He prepared himself to be reprimanded for being late to breakfast but when he finally reached the dining room his mother only glanced at him, sneered a bit at the state of his hair and motioned for him to sit across from her.  
“Mother.” Draco sat down, back straight, chin up, and hands on his lap the way his father taught him since childhood. Narcissa only glanced at Draco briefly again before sliding an envelope across the table. His heart skipped a beat. Surely it couldn’t be from Astoria already, she’d have had to write him as soon as he left and sent the owl before midnight for it to arrive in time for breakfast. He remembered his mother had said she didn’t like him talking to her and perhaps that was the reason for her foul mood, and yet… Draco couldn’t help the warm fluttery feeling from returning to him. It took all he had not to smile and tear open the envelope to see what she had written him.  
“Open it.” Narcissa said, not light enough to be a suggestion but without the conviction of a command. Nodding Draco reached out slowly, so as not to seem too eager, and brought it close to him. There was something familiar in the handwriting on the envelope and when he turned it around the seal keeping it closed was none other than Hogwarts’ official seal.  
“It’s from Hogwarts.” Draco said dumbly, looking up at his mother who was staring blankly at the chair where his father would be seated if he had not been exiled for violating their probation.  
“Open it.” She repeated not taking her eyes of the empty chair at the head of the table. “Read it, out loud.” She added.  
“Dear Draco Malfoy,” He began, “Because of the events taking place during your seventh year at Hogwarts, we believe your education cannot be considered complete. We at Hogwarts would like to give you the option of repeating your seventh year with us. Should you join us again this year all your courses-”  
“How dare they!” Narcissa interrupted, standing from the table furiously. “You were the top student in Slytherin!”  
“Mother.” Draco tried to calm her before she could get too worked up.  
“Top of your year in fact!” She continued holding her wand so tightly her knuckles turned white.  
“Mother, please.” He stayed in his seat helplessly watching his mother pace around the room angrily.  
“Tied with that filthy little mudblood Granger girl!”  
“Mother!” Draco stood, raising his voice to a shout. Narcissa froze next to the tall chair belonging to her husband. She squinted her eyes at her son and when he held her gaze she huffed and turned away angrily.  
“Wait till your father hears about this.” She stormed out of the room, her dress swishing dramatically behind her. Draco sighed and followed after her, taking deep breaths to keep his own anger and frustration in check.  
“What could he do?” Draco called out, following her into the dreadful sitting room.  
“You, get me my luggage.” The same elf from before had the misfortune of being the one in their path. “Go. Now” Narcissa commanded with a threatening wave of her wand.  
“Y-yes Lady Narcissa right away, Shambles shall be going right away!” Shambles disapparated from the room in favor of having to scurry up the stairs to Narcissa’s quarters.  
“Where are you going, Father can’t do anything now. The Malfoy name has no power anymore! No status!” Draco stepped towards his mother ready to try and stop her from leaving but she pulled away from him.  
“Don’t you dare say that!” She shouted before stepping back towards Draco. “Never again, do you hear me. Never.” It was little more than a hiss but every word carried venom in it that Draco had never witnessed from his mother. He nodded; worried anything he might say would set her off again.  
“Here you are Lady Narcissa. Shambles wishes you a safe and enjoyable trip. Shambles hopes that Lady Narcissa will-” at a stern glare from both Malfoys Shambles shut their mouth quickly. Narcissa snatched her luggage away from the shriveled creature and turned to step into the fireplace.  
“The Malfoy name is one of great history and power. Whatever happens, Draco, it is your job to bring the name back into glory. You and your children will define the Malfoy legacy.” Shambles waddled up to Narcissa and presented her the pot of floo powder. She looked at the elf then back to her son. “Whatever your father can or cannot do you will not be returning to Hogwarts and that is final.” With a flick of her wrist the forgotten letter Draco was holding started burning. He dropped it to the ground where the flames enveloped the parchment completely, when Draco looked back up his mother was gone and a cloud of soot and smoke was all that was left. Looking back down to the pile of ash that was once the letter from Hogwarts Draco sighed.  
His mother had become increasingly irritable since his father was banished to Spain. They were out in Diagon Alley when a muggle born had yelled at them them that they were low life deatheaters who deserved to be imprisoned in Azkaban, and while Draco was trying to make peace with the fact that those things were very much true his Father had acted rashly and pulled out his wand. The way his mother tells the story the muggle born was the first to start throwing hexes, but Draco remembers very clearly the look on the opposing wizard’s face when Lucius Malfoy started the duel. It couldn’t even have been considered a duel since really it was just Draco’s father throwing a powerful hex at an unarmed wizard then being taken into custody. Somehow though, his mother convinced the ministry to not send him to Azkaban, instead they banished him from Britain and sent him off to Spain to live out the rest of his life in exile under close watch. Draco and Narcissa had not broken any laws or rules of their probation so they were allowed to stay at Malfoy Manor if they pleased. Draco ran his hand through his hair coiling away in disgust at the greasy feeling.  
“Will Master Draco be taking his breakfast now?” Shambles put the floo powder pot down and looked up at Draco with wide eyes. He sneered.  
“Draw me a bath upstairs.” Draco said dismissively turning and walking towards the stairs.  
“Of course Master Draco. Shall Shambles bring Master Draco’s breakfast upstairs then?”  
“Did I say anything about breakfast.” He practically snarled at the small creature that shook its head quickly but otherwise seemed unfazed his tone. “Just bring up some tea and toast with jam.” Draco conceded scoffing at the eager little nod he got in return.  
“Ah yes of course Master Draco! Tea and toast and jam and tea and toast and jam and tea and toast…” Shambles continued singing as it disapparated again most likely to draw the bath quickly, leaving Draco to climb the stairs alone and wonder if that house elf was all there.  
After his bath, Draco changed into muggle lounge pants, and a hoodie he had bought without his parents knowing. He took the book he was in the middle of reading from his desk and locked himself away in the Library for the rest of the day. House elves would pop in and out timidly asking if Draco needed anything and after the third time being disturbed in five minutes Draco yelled that the next house elf to disturb him would be severely punished, he was left in peace after that. Draco managed to finish the book he brought from his room and two more before his stomach grumbled loudly. Without putting the third new book down Draco made his way out of the library and headed towards the kitchen where three house elves were working each at a different task.  
“What is there for Dinner?” Draco asked bored, making his presence known.  
“M-Master Draco!” One of the house elves yelped before bowing, the other two following suit.  
“Dinner?” Draco asked again leaning against the doorframe.  
“A-ah Master Draco will have to for give us, we did not think Master Draco would be taking dinner tonight.” One of the elves, a greyish brown one, bowed deeper in apology. Draco looked at the old clock on the wall noticing it was nearly one in the morning, and hummed in acknowledgment.  
“B-but if Master Draco pleases, Mally can prepare a dish for Master Draco.” A dull purplish brown elf stepped forward timidly, “Mally can prepare stake, or salmon, or perhaps Master Draco would prefer a pasta this night.” Draco yawned, suddenly aware how heavy his eyelids felt.  
“Just a sandwich.” He said through another yawn.  
“Of course!”  
“Yes Master Draco!”  
“Immediately Master Draco!” All three house elves spoke at the same time clamoring around the kitchen looking for the ingredients. Draco walked in and leaned against a counter looking out the window to their garden. It was filled with all sorts of vegetables and herbs needed for the lavish meals the house elves were ordered to make on a regular basis. Of course the house elves were the ones who dealt with the upkeep, which meant some of the herbs and vegetables that were out of season were kept alive through magic, but if that altered the taste Draco couldn’t tell. Past the garden there was a small orchard of trees, three apple trees, three lime, three cherry, and even more. Draco smiled to himself noticing how the trees’ leave swayed in the wind but the trunk never wavered, never budged. _Astoria would like our orchard. I’d love to show it to her_.  
“Here you are Master Draco.” The purplish brown elf, Mally, held up a plate with a sandwich on it.  
“Thank you.” Draco said absentmindedly taking the plate from the elf still gazing out at the trees. What he didn’t notice was the house elves all freeze and look at each other skeptically. None of the Malfoys ever thanked their elves, in fact they made it a point to never spare them any kindness seeing as according to Lucius, “house elves are creatures that were born and bred for slavery, being civil to them only gives them ideas of grandeur”. Before Draco could realize what he’d done the three elves scurried out of the room in fear of what their master would say once he noticed his mistake. He never noticed it at all; Draco just ate his sandwich while staring out at the rows of trees outside. All the house elves were too afraid to ask if he was ill.

The next morning his mother was still gone and there was no letter waiting for him. Despite the initial disappointment Draco was able to get himself together for a productive day. He worked in his father’s old study dealing with matters that pertained to the manor, and sorting through invitations from other pureblood families to ‘gatherings’ of different kinds. Draco snorted when he read the fourth letter that claimed to be inviting the Malfoys over for a “small gathering of the closest pureblood families”. He remembered how Astoria had laughed with him over the fact that to these types of people small gathering meant at least 80 people were invited and encouraged to bring guests of their own. Smiling to himself he managed to sort through all the mail his mother had left behind. 

The Next day was Monday. There was still no mother, still no letter. The disappointment was stronger today, though Draco couldn’t tell if it was because his mother had yet to return, or if it was because Astoria hadn’t written him yet. Draco took a deep breath and decided to tidy his room. He still hadn’t unpacked the trunk that had been sent to him from Hogwarts after he had been released from custody back to the manor. Mentally preparing himself Draco took out his wand and unlocked the chest. He cringed at the mess inside, it was clear someone had been through his things before they were sent back to him, probably to look for any illegal or incriminating substances. Slowly Draco took out his things one by one, first the books and the cauldron at the top of the pile, and then came his casual clothes, Slytherin Robes, and finally his quidditch uniform. He kept his fist clenched in the emerald green cloth of his quidditch robe trying to forget all the good times he had flying around out on the field.  
Quidditch was always a safe place for Draco to be Draco. He was part of a team where the only thing expected of him was to capture the snitch before the other seeker did, on the Slytherin quidditch team he wasn’t Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius, future right hand to the Dark lord, he was just Draco Malfoy, that aggressive seeker who would do whatever it took to push his team to victory. Draco didn’t realize he was crying until a tear fell onto the back of his hand. Somehow it hurt to remember the good times, it hurt worse knowing he’d never be allowed back, what hurt the most was that he had a chance to go back and make things right, to apologize to Granger, to the Weasleys, even to Potter, but he was forbidden to take that chance.  
Draco rubbed his face with his left arm, noticing the Dark Mark on his forearm that seemed to be fading slowly over time. Draco pulled his sleeve over it aggressively, _as if they’d ever accept an apology from me_. Draco rubbed at his face again lamenting the fact that his eyes were opened to the disgusting and cruel ways of the deatheaters much too late to do anything about it, and now here he was trapped with a family who still believed purebloods deserved more power than the average wizard, who still fought secretly for the ways of the past. He stood, grabbing his Slytherin robes and quidditch gear and walked towards his door, throwing it open. The hall was empty, not a house elf in sight.  
“Shambles!” Draco yelled the name of the first house elf he could remember.  
“Yes Master Draco?” Draco jumped when the voice came from behind him inside of his room.  
“Dammit.” Draco swore under his breath.  
“Did Master Draco require assistance?” Shambles paused, “Oh dear, is Master Draco ill? Master Draco’s eyes are red and swollen, Lady Narcissa will not be pleased if Master Draco is ill!”  
“Just shut up.” Draco threw the robes and gear at the short little elf. “Burn them.” There was some rustling in the pile of fabric that covered Shambles before his head popped out.  
“Oh, is Master Draco going to buy new robes for his school year? That is very exciting Master Draco! When will Master Draco be returning? Shambles remembers that today is the first day of the Hogwarts days! Shall Shambles find Master Draco transportation?”  
“Just shut up and get rid of them! Aren’t your kind meant to obey mindlessly like the stupid creatures you are?” Draco shouted effectively shutting up the house elf. “Go! I don’t want to see those robes again! Now go, do as I say!” Draco pointed out the open door of his room. Shambles gathered up all the fabric in his arms and with a watery nod he disapparated out of the room. Draco let out a loud curse as he slammed his door shut. 

By Wednesday Draco gave up on the thought that Astoria might actually write him. The Greengrass girls were always quite nasty. Draco remembers how Daphne would shamelessly flirt with who ever looked interested or vulnerable to get what she wanted, she had even tried to make passes at Draco when she knew very well he was dating Pansy during their Hogwarts days. He huffed as a house elf scurried out of sight when it saw Draco walking towards it, they’d been avoiding him since Monday and honestly he couldn’t blame them. Though it did bother him a bit that not even his Father had scared the elves enough to make them flee at his sight. _Had he become even crueler than his father_? Shaking the thought from his head Draco made his way outside to the garden where he’d left his broom last. He had done everything he could around the manor, he sorted the mail for when his mother got back, he cleaned his own room instead of ordering a house elf to do it, he’d read all the books in his possession, just the ones in his room, not the whole library because most of those books belonged to his mother and father and they had put security charms around them that Draco didn’t dare try and lift for fear of finding something he didn’t want to see. Ignoring the house elves that rushed back inside as he stepped out into the garden Draco mounted his broom and took off towards the sky. He never went past the borders of Malfoy Manor but at least up in sky the air blowing through his hair he could forget about his absent mother, and a girl who never wrote.

It was Friday night when Draco’s new routine was finally disrupted. Draco was eating dinner alone at the long wooden table, just left of where his father would be sitting if he were still there, when a house elf approached him cautiously.  
“M-master Draco sir.” Draco only raised his eyebrow in acknowledgement hardly even glancing at the shivering beast. “Th-this letter has arrived for you, sir.” The house elf stood on its toes to slide the envelope onto the table next to Draco’s placemat. He stared at it; the seal was yellow and had a small badger on it.  
“When did this arrive?” Draco asked not taking his eyes off the letter.  
“O-only moments ago Master Draco.” Draco nodded.  
“You’re dismissed.” The house elf rushed out of the room in seconds but Draco paid no mind to it, instead he grabbed the letter gently as if it would disappear if he handled it too roughly with his butter knife he opened the envelope and took out the piece of parchment. His mind was racing, part of him wanted to jump for joy if it really was from Astoria, part of him wanted to be angry, but mostly he was afraid to be disappointed again. He unfolded the parchment…

_Draco,_  
_I’m sorry it took me so long to write. I hope you don’t think any less of me._

Draco let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and let a smile find its way onto his face as he continued reading.

_I didn’t forget about you I promise! In fact I was hoping to see you here, but I suppose you must not have wanted to come back, well that or you didn’t get a letter… and in that case I’M SORRY FOR BRINGING IT UP! Oh, you probably don’t even know what I mean by ‘here’. Well see Daphne and I got letters inviting us back to Hogwarts and while I excepted mine (does that sound narcissistic? It does doesn’t it?) I wasn’t really expecting Daphne to be invited to do her 7th year over again! Of course she thought it was insulting since she had “such great grades” (well that’s what she says anyways, I don’t think getting mostly A’s in your N.E.W.T classes is considered great) so she didn’t accept and is staying home helping mother do whatever mothers do I guess. I accepted of course! I’m not going to miss my last two years at Hogwarts for anything! I’ve been very busy getting settled back in, which is why this letter is LONG overdue! And also why this letter is so short (Please do forgive me, I’ve got classes to study for and things to unpack). I really do hope you didn’t think I’d forgotten about you. I don’t think I could ever forget about you Draco Malfoy, you’re far too strange to forget! I mean I’ve never met anyone who’s liked to hear me ramble except for you (Please note the teasing tone I’m trying to convey here)! Hope to hear from you soon Draco, till then_  
_Sincerely the girl in love with trees,_  
_Astoria Greengrass_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter might've gotten a little boring and a little ooc for Draco, but I had to set up a few things in this chapter that'll help move the story along!  
> I hope you enjoyed it anyhow!  
> Comments are encouraging and welcomed, lemme know how you liked it!  
> Thank you!  
> (Also wowie I'm so bad with names don't judge my house elves too harshly!)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a beta so I'm sure theres errors! Feel free to point them out so I can fix them!  
> Comments are encouraging and welcomed, lemme know how you liked it!  
> Thanks!


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